5 Week weigh in and no weight loss – WTF?

Today was my 5 Week post op weigh in and I did not lose anything. Talk about frustration and confusion. How can this be when I am not doing anything wrong.

I cannot tell you how pissed off I am after stepping on the scale and not seeing any change in my weight. I freakin’ had major surgery to lose weight and even that does not seem to be working. WTF? I am so confused and angry right now – what a let down.

When I saw my surgeon last week I voiced my concern that my weight loss seemed slow and I was only down about 19 pounds in 4 weeks. He did not seem as concerned as I was about it saying I have a slow metabolism and I was ok with that answer until now. To not lose anything when I am eating maybe a third of what I use to seems crazy to me. I keep thinking that if I was eating this amount and not have had the surgery would I have lost more? (ok of course me eating this amount would have never happened without surgery – let me get real.) BUT what is going wrong?

So as I sit back and bite my nails trying to get my head around it all I have been doing some thinking and research as to what might be the reasons. First let me add in that I have not seen my nutritionist yet. I was suppose to meet with her prior to my post op follow up last week, but she had to reschedule – my appointment with her is tomorrow. For now I have to draw up some of my own conclusions and here are my thoughts.

Weight Loss Stall – Yup this happens and it can even happen this early from what I have read online. My body can be in shock asking what the hell is going on and trying to adjust to all the changes I have recently put it through. So that is one thought.

Crystal Light/4C Drink – Aspartame/Splenda – So I was thinking, as I have said, and it came to mind that I have been drinking Light 4C Ice Tea (similar to Crystal Light) which is made with Splenda in my water daily. So instead of drinking plain water I fill my bottle everyday with the Ice Tea. I remember awhile back being on Weight Watchers and other diets and when I started drinking this my weight loss would slow down or stop. So I did some research online and I have found that Aspartame and Splenda can be an issue for not losing weight as well and it can also cause weight gain believe it or not, hmmm?? I have read an article about it at The Mayo Clinic – this is just one of many written. Here is a quote from the article: “If you’re trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain, products sweetened with artificial sweeteners rather than with higher calorie table sugar may be an attractive option. On the other hand, some research has suggested that consuming artificial sweeteners may be associated with increased weight, but the cause is not yet known”. Maybe this is my issue.

Hormones – Now even though I have had a hysterectomy I still have my ovaries and still ovulate. This past week was that time and when I think about it that may have even contributed to the depression the prior week. Meaning maybe it was like PMS of sorts. The surgeon said this surgery can mess with your hormones too. Maybe my body is retaining water. Hmmm could that be it?

Poop – Ok this is a crappy (lol) thing to talk about, but I gotta add it in. Now I have had bowel movements, but not as often as prior to surgery. I am not eating a ton of fiber right now – so maybe I am a bit backed up.

Slow Metabolism – This is what my surgeon had said. This is a true fact because of all the trouble I had losing weight prior to my decision to having the Gastric Bypass. This can be from many factors such as lack of exercise and possibly one of the medications I take for my heart (tachycardia) which slows down my heart rate and drops my blood pressure. I work from home and I am at my computer sitting most of the day. My exercise is limited and that can be an issue. I had started on my treadmill last week, but really only did it one day and did some yard work on another day. I have a bad back and the outside work messed me up. So could it just be my metabolism?

Protein & Liquid Intake – Now I am suppose to be getting in 60 mg + daily. I may not be getting in exactly 60 grams everyday, but I am pretty damn close. As far as the liquid goes – I know I am not getting in the 64 ounces they want me too – I am getting in at least 32 ounces daily. Could it be I am not taking in enough protein and liquids? Could be.

Food Intake – Could it be what I am eating? Uh I doubt it because I am not eating much at all and I make sure to try and eat foods high in protein. I have however started eating more normal foods this past week – meaning not pureed – could that be it?

In conclusion I have no idea and maybe it is just my body trying to figure things out. Or maybe it is one of the other things I listed above. I keep a food diary of everything I eat and I am looking forward to seeing my nutritionist tomorrow to go over everything with her and maybe she can give me some insight to what may be happening with my slow weight loss and now stall.

I will not bite my nails off trying to figure it out right now – I just stopped biting them a couple months ago and I am having too much fun with nail designs. I will however make some changes starting today such as – no more Light 4C Iced Tea with that artificial sweetener !! I filled my water bottle with plain ol’ water. I will also make sure to get my big butt on the treadmill no less than 30 minutes a day starting today as well.

I will write a post tomorrow after I see the nutritionist and let you all know what she has to say about it all and if I have any luck the scale will go down when I weigh in at their office.

It still is very frustrating to say the least, but I knew going in that Gastric Bypass would not be easy – I was just not expecting to have a stall this early on in my weight loss.